The present invention relates generally to the field of imaging. In particular, the invention relates to systems and methods for facilitating the focusing of an imaging device, such as a confocal microscope.
Confocal imaging provides a valuable mechanism for obtaining improved images by filtering out-of-focus interference. Confocal imaging is particularly useful in many biological applications, such as for the identification of biological elements including antigens.
A typical confocal imaging system illuminates a single point or region of a sample such that the illumination irradiance decreases rapidly above and below a focal plane. The single point or region can then be scanned across the entire sample to obtain a complete image.
When confocal imaging is used for surface detection, the focal plane should be accurately determined to obtain the desired image. In such confocal imaging systems, the system is calibrated for a focal plane prior to use of the systems in the field. However, with longer sample slides, for example, a single calibration may be insufficient to account for variations along the length of the slide due to bending or warping, for example. Thus, the imaging system may be calibrated for a scan at one end of the slide, but may be miscalibrated for a scan at the opposite end or the middle of the slide.